To manage the project, a steering committee (SC) is established at the kick-off meeting, to which each partner sends one contact person as an equal partner. The SC member then leads the local project implementation, carried out by the local teams. To support SC and local team [project team) efforts to facilitate data sharing and decision making, a project management platform (Trello) is used. This platform offers file sharing and traceable document modifications. In addition, quality gates are provided where, for example, all SC members or certain (freely defined) partners may can make a Go/No-Go decision. The approval of technical or financial reports by the work package leaders or the coordinator is also used.
Good reporting is a key factor in monitoring the success of the projects, covering both technical and financial reporting. Therefore, the communication structure works in a very flat hierarchy where all partner universities are responsible for regularly reviewing timetables and comparing them with the actual implementation. Work package leaders will monitor progress, triggering events and providing reports. As the final project-internal instance, the coordinator monitors the implementation and identifies deviations from the schedule in the quarterly management reports (including a three-month deliverable outlook) distributed among the partners. For any reasonable arguments, schedules can be adopted (if necessary with prior EACEA authorization). The main communication mean is the regular SC meeting, which provide time for discussion of results, future activities and schedules.
Additional online meetings can be held on request (with all SC members or as a single meeting). The online platform offers several functionalities and is therefore used as a central communication channel.
For high quality financial reporting, the coordinator should prepare at least two financial seminars to familiarize the partner’s administrative staff with the new Erasmus+ reporting rules. These financial seminars should take place for the first time in combination with the kick-off meeting and for the second time in combination with the third year’s SC meeting to prepare the final report. The financial reports are due every 6 months and are submitted to the EACEA (reviewed by an external auditor). A guideline based on the the seminars assists the partners in preparing reports.
The communication and reporting structure is included in the Consortium Agreement.